(a) The commissioner may issue to a person licensed to make
regulated consumer loans an order to show cause why his or her
license should not be revoked or should not be suspended for a
period not in excess of six months. The order shall state the
place for a hearing and set a time for the hearing that is no less
than ten days from the date of the order. After the hearing the
commissioner shall revoke or suspend the license if he or she finds
that:

(1) The licensee has repeatedly and willfully violated this
chapter or any rule or order lawfully made or issued pursuant to
this article;

(2) The licensee has failed to remit their required annual
assessment, or to maintain their status as a business in good
standing with the office of the Secretary of State, notwithstanding
notification in writing by the commissioner sent by certified mail
to the licensee's last known address providing for thirty days to
rectify such failure;

(3) The licensee has forfeited their license by failing to
remain open for regulated consumer lending business in conformity
with the rules or order of the commissioner; or

(4) Facts or conditions exist which would clearly have
justified the commissioner in refusing to grant a license had these
facts or conditions been known to exist at the time the application
for the license was made.

(b) No revocation or suspension of a license under this
article is lawful unless prior to institution of proceedings by the commissioner notice is given to the licensee of the facts or
conduct which warrant the intended action, and the licensee is
given an opportunity to show compliance with all lawful
requirements for retention of the license.

(c) If the commissioner finds that probable cause for
revocation of a license exists and that enforcement of this article
requires immediate suspension of the license pending investigation,
he or she may, after a hearing upon five days' written notice,
enter an order suspending the license for not more than thirty
days.

(d) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the
commissioner to take action against a regulated consumer lender
pursuant to chapter thirty-one-a of this code.

(e) Whenever the commissioner revokes or suspends a license,
he or she shall enter an order to that effect and forthwith notify
the licensee of the revocation or suspension. Within five days
after the entry of the order he or she shall mail by registered or
certified mail or deliver to the licensee a copy of the order and
the findings supporting the order.

(f) Any person holding a license to make regulated consumer
loans may relinquish the license by notifying the commissioner in
writing of its relinquishment, but this relinquishment shall not
affect his or her liability for acts previously committed.

(g) No revocation, suspension, forfeiture or relinquishment of
a license shall impair or affect the obligation of any preexisting
lawful contract between the licensee and any consumer.

(h) The commissioner may reinstate a license, terminate a suspension or grant a new license to a person whose license has
been revoked or suspended if no fact or condition then exists which
clearly would have justified the commissioner in refusing to grant
a license.

(i) In addition to the authority authorized by this section,
the commissioner may impose a fine or penalty not exceeding $2,000
upon any regulated consumer lender required to be licensed under
this article who violates this chapter, chapter thirty-one-a or any
other law or rule that the Division of Banking is authorized to
enforce with respect to companies licensed under this article. For
the purposes of this section, each day, excluding Sundays and
holidays, that an unlicensed person engages in the business or
holds himself or herself out to the general public as a licensed
consumer lender is a separate violation and, as such, each day is
subject to the maximum fine of $2,000 per day. Any fine or penalty
imposed under this subsection may be contested by the licensee
pursuant to article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.